The Way of Holiness

Isaiah 35:8 And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness.  The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it.

Isaiah 34 is about the judgement God will have on the nations.  This part of God's nature is a little unsettling for me.  I realize that God is perfect and must hold his people to a high standard.  It's just hard for me to think of a loving God having such harsh judgment.  However, I know for many people it is completely the opposite.  They can see God as the judge, but cannot see Him as loving.  So how can we combine these two parts of God's nature.  For me, it is necessary to look at the Trinity in order to truly understand the nature of who God is.  I see God as the Father who must hold me accountable for my actions.  For the wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23)  We cannot be in His holy presence in our sinful self.  Therefore I have Jesus as the loving part of the Trinity who died for me in my place so that I can stand justified before God.  The Spirit is my Counselor who bridges my struggle with judgment and love.  The Spirit guides my mind to keep me on the path that is the Way, Jesus infiltrates my heart to make me the perfect creation whom the Father intended me to be.  My sinful nature is tempted by this world, but I am a new creation in Jesus, called to a higher standard.  "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)  Walk with Jesus on the Way of Holiness and you will experience life to the fullest.